Analysis by leading think tanks
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EUROPE
The EU’s “disappointing” response to migration crisis (Kristy Siegfried, IRIN). A closer look at the list of commitments from Europe’s leaders after their hastily-arranged migrant crisis summit in Brussels reveals no substantial change in response and few measures likely to have any major impact on the flows of migrants and asylum-seekers trying to reach Europe. (…) http://www.eurasiareview.com/25042015-the-eus-disappointing-response-to-migration-crisis-analysis/
GLOBAL
Leading By Engaging (Anne-Marie Slaughter, Project-Syndicate). In his first inaugural address, US President Barack Obama offered an invitation to the world’s most closed countries. “We will extend a hand,” he said, “if you are willing to unclench your fist.” This statement encapsulated the foreign policy of “engagement” that he endorsed during his first term – an approach that, despite some shortcomings, has a lot of merit. (…) http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/obama-foreign-policy-record-by-anne-marie-slaughter-2015-04
Modern culture and Arab literature: is there any way forward? (Yara al-Wazir, Al Arabiya). Earlier this week, Kuwaiti writer Muneefa Abdullah filed a lawsuit against Disney Studios over copyright infringement. The filing claims that the plot of the hit film “Frozen” was based on a story in Abdullah’s book, “The Snow Princess”. (…) http://english.alarabiya.net/en/views/news/middle-east/2015/04/25/Modern-culture-and-Arab-literature-is-there-any-way-forward-.html
The Mediterranean: the great, white and cruel sea (Hisham Melhem, Al Arabiya). The Mediterranean is a small sea, but culturally and historically its role in shaping the trajectory of human civilization and synthetizing various cultures gives it the pride of place among the much larger bodies of waters. On its shores emerged the first learned city-states of Sidon, Tyre, Athens and Venice, the sophisticated cities that became the centers of empires; Carthage, Alexandria and Constantinople. For millennia, armies would sail its waters and march on its coasts from East to West and in reverse. (…) http://english.alarabiya.net/en/views/news/middle-east/2015/04/25/The-Mediterranean-the-great-white-and-cruel-sea.html
Global Development Forum: Full Agenda (CSIS), http://csis.org/event/global-development-forum
Waging electoral warfare (Marco Montanari, ISN Security Watch). In a world of multiple forms of conflict, is there such a thing as electoral warfare? Marco Montanari believes so. Today, he outlines the concept behind this type of ‘combat’, to include its historical development and organizing principles. (…) http://www.eurasiareview.com/25042015-waging-electoral-warfare-analysis/
LATIN AMERICA
Comparative studies between Latin American giants regarding egalitarian policies (Paul Gioia, COHA). Latin America, along with Southeast Asia, is one of the most dynamic economic regions in the world. It has experienced great progress in education in the past decades, especially the last one. Additionally, the region has enjoyed steady economic gains as of late, averaging a rate of 3.7 percent in annual growth since 2005. (…) http://www.eurasiareview.com/25042015-comparative-studies-between-latin-american-giants-regarding-egalitarian-policies-analysis/
MIDDLE EAST
Time to put an end to the Israeli occupation altogether (Daoud Kuttab, Al Arabiya). Out of nowhere, this week, two prominent individuals came out in support of the two-state solution as the best way to move forward the dormant Palestinian-Israeli conflict. (…) http://english.alarabiya.net/en/views/news/middle-east/2015/04/24/Time-to-put-an-end-to-the-Israeli-occupation-altogether.html
Armenians and Turks must look for a shared future (Ceylan Ozbudak, Al Arabiya). World War One went down in history as a terribly destructive bloodbath, during which millions of people from many nations perished. The Armenians were one of these nations: So were Muslim Ottomans, Jewish Ottomans, Kurds, Arabs, Anzacs, Greeks, Serbs, Germans, French, British, Indians and the list goes on. It was a merciless slaughter for all these people. All the lives lost in that war mattered, not only the Armenian ones. (…) http://english.alarabiya.net/en/views/news/middle-east/2015/04/25/What-to-expect-from-Armenia-and-Turkey-after-24th-April.html
How the Armenians came to live among Arabs (Lana Asfour, Al Jazeera). The pope and the European Parliament recently urged the Turkish government to recognise the Armenian mass killings as “genocide”, while others – including the US – have stopped short of using the term and called for a “full, frank” recognition of historical facts. But it is worth remembering that the people of the Arab Middle East have long recognised what the Armenians suffered. (…) http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2015/04/armenians-arabs-turkey-genocide-150425052603372.html
The reasons behind the murder of ex-Syrian spy chief Rustom Ghazaleh (Abdulrahman al-Rashed, Al Arabiya). Former Syrian political security chief Rustom Ghazaleh, one of the country’s most notorious figures for the past two decades, has died. (…) http://english.alarabiya.net/en/views/news/middle-east/2015/04/25/The-reasons-behind-the-murder-of-ex-Syrian-spy-chief-Rustom-Ghazaleh.html
Humanitarian crisis of immense magnitude looms in Yemen (Mohamed Elmontassir Hussein, Al Jazeera). One year ago, the International Rescue Committee warned that stability in Yemen would not be possible while “more than half of the population do not know where their next meal is coming from”. This past month’s events have borne out that monition. Violence in the country, which has affected 18 of its 22 governorates and morphed into an all-out proxy war between regional powers, has brought Yemen to the brink of collapse. A humanitarian crisis of immense magnitude looms. (…) http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2015/04/humanitarian-crisis-immense-magnitude-looms-yemen-150425051323967.html
